


16 || james

by ralphstatortots



Series: imallexx || [16]
Category: Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, hmmmm (:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 17:52:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18015539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralphstatortots/pseuds/ralphstatortots
Summary: “Do you two have to do this in every video?” George sighs exasperatedly, leaning his head on the palm of his hand as he watches them. “I mean – I doubt half my viewers are even gonna care about whether you’re dating or not.”“We’re not dating,” James interjects, lifting his unoccupied hand to point at George. “It’s just for views. For that sweet cash flow we so desperately need.”





	16 || james

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mikeymomoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikeymomoo/gifts).



> bold of u to assume that this isnt already happening mikey but okay
> 
>  
> 
> also, as a note that i want everybody to read:
> 
> i dont think i can fulfil every request i get from now - i enjoy writing a lot and the things people ask me to write is a huge honour to be given, but sometimes i just…..cant get a clear mind on what to write yknow?? ill always write down what im asked to anyway just in case i get sudden inspiration, but unfortunately i dont want to burn myself out like this again or oversaturate ideas etc dfgh its a huge pleasure for me to write for people and hearing the feedback of them liking it etc, but i cant force myself to write EVERYTHING without wanting 2 die so. just. bear with me and sorry if i don’t write what you ask/have asked for, i will always have it in my list, but i just cant force these things xx

It’s just an idea at first, and that’s it. An idea to play up their relationship to cash in more views on their podcast. Just being a bit more touchy-feely at first, nothing more.

It works too; their views go up quite considerably just over a few tender looks and a hug that spread around Twitter like wildfire. It’s quite amazing to James just how easily it worked.

“Do you two have to do this in every video?” George sighs exasperatedly, leaning his head on the palm of his hand as he watches them. “I mean – I doubt half my viewers are even gonna care about whether you’re dating or not.”

“We’re not dating,” James interjects, lifting his unoccupied hand to point at George. “It’s just for views. For that sweet cash flow we so desperately need.”

“You don’t even get a cut of my ad revenue, if I get any.” George sighs and waves it off. “Fine, whatever. Be gay together as much as you want, just don’t–don’t kiss or anything like that on my videos.”

Alex snorts and tightens his hand around James’. “Maybe we will just to spite you.”

“No, you won’t.” George answers back quickly. “You won’t ‘cause you two only kiss when you’re drunk, don’t you?” He smirks, mostly at James for that. Alex coughs to clear his throat.

“It would get your views up, mate,” Alex throws out weakly. “The other half of your viewers are fans of us anyway.”

“Go on then,” George shrugs, “Kiss. Do it right now.”

“I’m not drunk enough for that, George.” James shakes his head. Alex’s hand clasped in his own tenses briefly. “Would rather not kiss the bathwater-slurping gremlin when I can remember it.”

Alex sighs and leans back in his seat. “That joke’s dead. It’s not even funny anymore, James.”

“Sorry, love.” James hums almost sympathetically, but the smirk on his lips tells otherwise. “You know I can't resist bullying you.”

“You two are disgusting.” George spits out through a sigh, turning away to check the recording time. James takes the chance to run his thumb over the bump of Alex’s joint. “We need about five more minutes and I already have to cut this out. So stop the flirting and just pay attention, yeah?”

They both agree absently and sit back up to actually take part in the video. Out the corner of his eye, James can see Alex stifling a grin behind his hand.

* * *

James isn’t exactly sure when they said they’d stop. He isn’t sure that they actually said they _would_ stop. Maybe he and Alex had silently agreed for it to go on indefinitely.

He posts a picture on Instagram, after their kindly dubbed ‘Beancon’ after Alex had his debacle with Vidcon. He captions it something that’ll get the same reaction, something that’ll raise eyebrows and make people second-guess. It gets more attention that he thought it would.

“Does this mean we’re going on a honeymoon?” Alex asks after he posts the picture, eyes heavy as he looks up from his phone.

“I suppose we could. It would make a good photo.” James shrugs. “I’ll take you to Nandos.”

“Nandos isn’t a honeymoon, James.” Alex sighs, wiping his at his face through a yawn. “A honeymoon is taking me somewhere _not_ in the UK.”

“You’re lucky you’re getting anything at all, you cretin.” James tuts. Alex giggles sharply at that.

“Just take me to New York with you next time, and I won’t bitch at you.” Alex shrugs and the corners of his mouth perk upwards.

James hums in agreement to what he barely heard, watching as Alex grins at him sleepily from his spot where he’s curled up in the small chair. It’s almost endearing, James thinks, but he’s roped into watching horrible nursery rhyme videos before he can consider the meaning of the heavy outline of _something_ beneath his skin when he saw the warm look Alex had given him.

* * *

It’s podcast day – or, it was yesterday. They’re filming at two in the morning again, which isn’t surprising considering their unanimous sleeping patterns lately.

“We asked for questions, didn’t we, James?” Alex cuts into a brief second of silence, clicking a few times on his laptop.

“That we did.” James says, leaning over the small gap between them to look at the Twitter replies. “Unsurprisingly, they’re all about us dating.”

“Which we’re not!” Alex laughs. “We’re definitely not – unless we are and I had no idea.”

“I would hope you’re smart enough to know if we were in a relationship, Alex.” James grins at the other boy, earning another one back.

“Maybe I do know.” Alex blurts out defensively, which he realises definitely sounds a bit dodgy. “ _If_ we were dating, that is.”

“‘If’,” James scoffs and takes a sip of his water, giving Alex a knowing look out the corner of his eye. Alex stares back with an inescapable grin. “But we’re not, are we? Just a bit of fun.”

“Just a bit of fun,” Alex echoes, his grin growing as he points at the camera. “But we are married, though.”

“That’s just so the tax man will get off your back.” James jokes, laughing when Alex groans in frustration.

“Stop bringing up dead memes, James!” Alex cries. “I expect better from you, as my husband.”

“Sorry, babe.” James hums. He looks away when he realises he’s staring just a bit too long at the other man as Alex scrolls to find a good question. Something funny gets stuck in his throat, and James struggles to swallow it down.

* * *

“We’re monetised,” Alex mumbles to James across the sofa. “Just checked, so we should be good to upload tonight.”

“Do you two not feel bad?” Fraser blurts out, making both men look up confusedly. “About lying.”

“Lying about what?” Alex asks, frowning.

“About dating. Doesn’t it feel...a bit fake?” Fraser says, barely sparing them a glance past his game. “I mean, I know you two flirt like it’s nothing, but–“

“That’s not flirting.” James cuts in, tone incredulous, as if Fraser is being ridiculous. “That’s just bants, innit?”

“Never say that again,” Alex snorts.

“Yeah, but doesn’t it feel a bit scummy to lie about dating?” Fraser frowns. “If I were doing it, I wouldn’t feel too good about it.”

“I guess...But it pays bills, doesn’t it?” James coughs. “Plus, it’s not like we said we were dating. We could just be really friendly.”

“Just mates that hold hands.” Alex chimes in with a grin.

“And spend sixty percent of their time staring at each other.” Fraser laughs. “I’m eagerly awaiting the day you two kiss for a video. See what you do when you’re not sober.”

Alex shrugs. “Sure, right, get us in a video and we’ll do it.”

“How about for Instagram?” Fraser offers, pausing his game to wave around his phone. “Bet you won’t.”

“Bet we would.” Alex challenges, pushing his laptop off his lap to lean into James’ side.

“Who said I agreed to this?” James shoots the other two a look.

“Me,” Alex tells him, hand resting on James’ thigh in a way that almost makes him want to curl up under his bed covers for weeks. “As your virtual husband, I demand you kiss me.”

“You’re starting to sound like my fucking Runescape girlfriend.” James snorts, making Fraser stifle a laugh into his jumper as Alex frowns at him.

“Are you two doing this or what?” Fraser says before Alex can say anything.

“Sounds like you just want to watch us kiss, Fraser.” James sighs, shaking his head scoldingly. “Fine, yeah. C’mere before I change my mind.”

Alex grins at him, bright and blinding, and James almost backs out of this situation just from that. “Don’t be afraid to get into it.” Alex teases just before he sits up on his knees, hands cupping James’ face and pressing their lips together before he can say anything back.

It’s different from the other times; James is usually the one initiating any kissing, so it’s strange to feel Alex pressed up against him for once. They’re also completely sober too, and James isn’t sure what to do with his hands until Alex guides them to his waist.

Distantly, Fraser tells them to stop after he’s finished recording, but somehow it only makes Alex crawl closer. James doesn’t do anything to stop him.

“For fuck’s sake,” Fraser groans as he throws a cushion at them, jolting them apart. “You’re worse than when you’re drunk.”

Alex cheeks go pink, all too pretty, and James struggles to tear his eyes away. “Would probably be better if we were drunk.”

Fraser laughs and Alex joins in embarrassedly, and James isn’t about to be called out after just kissing his best-mate-turned-fake-boyfriend, so he chuckles weakly to appease the other two. It feels fake to his own ears.

James asks Fraser for the video after, to post on Twitter as a joke. He never does post it. Instead, it sits in his photos, tempting yet all too frightening to watch after his lips still feel the pressure.

* * *

James doesn’t do it on purpose. He just...loses control of the reigns a bit. It’s all still for videos, for views, for a bit extra cash to pay the rent. Alex doesn’t seem to notice, only plays along with it even more.

The Instagram video gets spread faster than the hug they shared on one of the podcast episodes, and James gets more than a few messages about the nature of his and Alex’s relationship. It doesn’t bother him too much, except how he can’t resist watching it every single time he sees the video. They still don’t say if they’re dating or not.

James doesn’t notice himself until it’s too late. He gets extra touchy, hands on Alex constantly, joking about kissing or their relationship spilling out of him like a waterfall when he gets the chance. It would be _fine_ if it weren’t for the fact that James finds himself doing it when there are no cameras.

They don’t kiss anymore after Fraser’s Instagram story, not even when they drank on two different occasions afterwards. James finds himself missing it, almost, in some twisted way.

“Something doesn’t look right with you, Marriott.” Alex says one night, drunk on sleep and forcing himself awake after a nap. “You look like a kicked dog.”

“You’re probably the one doing the kicking.” James sighs, blinking when he checks his phone. “Just feels a bit weird – doing all these things when there are no cameras.”

“Do you mean _taking a nap_?” Alex laughs, stretching out under the blanket before slumping against James again.

“Well, do you regularly take naps with your mates?” James scoffs back. “Just feels a bit like you have an ulterior motive here.”

Alex snorts at that. “Like I would need an ulterior motive just to take a nap with you. You implying something?”

“Only thing I’m implying is that you fancy me.” James says and hates the way his chest tightens after the words come out. “I bet you just do all this to get close to me.”

Alex’s cheeks bleed a heavy pink, his form shrinking under the blanket. “Don’t say stuff like that, or else people will doubt you’re whether you’re actually straight.”

“They already are, thanks to you.” James mutters, lifting a hand to muss up Alex’s already ruffled hair. “No need to get embarrassed, it’s only us.”

“That’s the _point_.” Alex flushes, looking up at James accusingly. “We do this when it’s just us, James. Not just in front of a camera. Doesn’t that give you some sort of–I dunno, doesn’t it make you question things?”

James swallows heavily. He’d tried not to look into anything too deep, told himself to take it all at face value and think of it as nothing more than something they just do for their channels. Alex had noticed all of it more than James thought.

“I don’t know,” James says distantly.

“What do you want from this?” Alex asks, sounding almost exasperated. “Is this just about getting a couple more views anymore?”

“I don’t know,” James repeats. He can’t find the words he wants to say.

Alex looks up at him, sad and hurt, like James has just told him that his first pet has died. “Okay.” He nods, mostly to himself. “Okay, fine. Just don’t–” He pauses, inhaling noisily. “Don’t mess me around, James.”

Before he can ask anything about those words, Alex is gone, leaving him to a cold sofa, a cold blanket, an empty space that burns into his skin. James doesn’t chase after him, and the door shutting a little too loudly rings in his ears.

* * *

“This isn’t just for views anymore, is it?” James says. It sounds like a question to his own ears, but they both know the answer already. The hand curled in his own, small and cold, tightens its grip. 

“No,” Alex shakes his head. “No, I don’t think it’s been about views for a while.”

James laughs at that. It’s felt too long since they had this idea, since they started playing up their intimacy and let the lines blur together until it was impossible to tell what’s real and what’s for the sake of entertainment.

“I think I used it as an excuse,” James eyes the camera. It’s not the best idea to do this in the middle of a podcast, but it’s better than feeling like they’re walking on eggshells around each other. “To touch you or whatever. I don’t know, really. I just know that it makes me happier.”

Alex snorts, fingertips pressing into the dips of James’ hand, curling around the jutting joints of his fingers. “You’re such a melt.”

“Not my fault we don’t do feelings and all that.” James sighs, laughing to wave off the nervousness seeping into his skin. “I do like you, though. I just think it’s taken a bit too long to realise it.”

“Yeah,” Alex’s cheeks go pink, and it feels like James has seen that sight to last a lifetime, yet he never gets tired of it. “I’m the same.”

“Very impressive, Alex. You always did have a way with words.” James laughs, letting the hand in his own break away to cover pink cheeks.

“Whatever,” Alex huffs behind his hands. “At least all of it won’t be fake now, right?”

“I don’t think most of it was fake anyway. Except the marriage part.” James grins at the other, taking in a shy smile and soft eyes. “Want to kiss for real?”

“Wow, I’m positively swooning.” Alex comments dryly. He leans closer in anyway, humming when James joins their hands again and smooths a hand over Alex’s cheek.

James kisses him, like it’s the first time they’ve done this, like the warmth of pressed lips and wandering hands and heat curling in his chest is unfamiliar. It’s not as unfamiliar as James feels it is, but he gives in anyway, fingers threading through his hair desperately and words mumbled against his lips.

James wonders, later, if that kiss is going to be made into the final cut of the podcast episode and can’t tell if he likes the idea of it being their own more than that. It’s hard to resist showing it all off now that James knows it’s all real for sure.


End file.
